Reposted from the web

Summary: This Muslim travel guide to northern Xinjiang follows the Duku Highway, Bayanbulak Grassland, Nalati, Yining Shaanxi Mosque, Sayram Lake, Hui and Uyghur prayer life, and local halal food on the road.

A Halal Trip to Northern Xinjiang: Is Sayram Lake Actually Called Sailimai? is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: Driving from Urumqi in Northern Xinjiang to Southern Xinjiang via the Duku Highway is a classic road trip, but I chose to drive from south to north. The account keeps its focus on Urumqi Halal Food, Hui Muslims, Xinjiang Travel while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

Driving from Urumqi in Northern Xinjiang to Southern Xinjiang via the Duku Highway is a classic road trip, but I chose to drive from south to north. Going in reverse helps avoid the heavy traffic of the peak tourist season. The route passes through the Bayanbulak Grassland and the Nalati Grassland. The 560-kilometer drive from Kuqa to Yili includes about half on the Duku Highway, taking nine hours in total. You can experience all four seasons in a single day.



Having an electronic toll collection (ETC) tag saves time. Not many cars in Xinjiang have them, even though highways have ETC lanes. Most drivers get stuck in lines at the manual toll booths. Using an ETC tag on the Duku Highway costs 19 yuan, while the manual toll is 20 yuan.



The Duku Highway has an average elevation of 2,000 meters. You can see high-altitude snow-capped mountains, vast grasslands, deep canyons, and lakes. The scenery is truly beautiful. There are many rest areas along the way for sightseeing. A few spots are paid attractions, but I skipped those as they did not seem necessary.











Before reaching Yining County in Yili, you pass through the Bayanbulak Grassland and the Nalati Grassland. The Bayanbulak Grassland stretches for hundreds of kilometers. The endless sea of green grass and the blue sky wiped away all the fatigue from driving.



You can drive your own car into the Nalati Scenic Area, but you must book tickets on their official WeChat account a few days in advance. Self-driving tickets are in high demand, so it is best to get them early. We did not plan to enter the scenic area and just drove past it. These photos were taken with a phone, and the scenery inside is basically the same.





After a long day of travel, we arrived in Yining County, Yili Prefecture, after 10 p.m., just in time for the Maghrib (shamu) prayer.



This was our first time joining a congregational prayer at a mosque since arriving in Xinjiang, and I felt incredibly moved.



The elders at the mosque were very welcoming and told us about the Shaanxi Grand Mosque. The Yining Shaanxi Grand Mosque was built in 1751 during the 16th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. The main hall has two floors; the first floor has Uyghur-style interiors, while the second floor is in a traditional Chinese style. Currently, only the first floor is open.



Many places in Xinjiang have Shaanxi mosques, which were usually built by Hui Muslims who moved from inland China. During prayer time, I saw Uyghur elders and Hui Muslims praying together. After the prayer, everyone greeted each other, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.









The Shaanxi Grand Mosque is located in the Kazanqi Old Town in the center of Yining, which is also a popular spot for tourists.



Another national cultural heritage site in Yining is the minaret of the Jiefang South Road Mosque, also known as the Baitula Mosque. It was built in 1773 during the 38th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. The main building was demolished and rebuilt in 1996, but the minaret was preserved.







This street is also a night market packed with food, and it stays busy until after one in the morning.



I spent 10 yuan at the night market on three pieces of milk tofu (naidoufu). I took a bite, and it was sour and smelly; I think I ate it the wrong way.



For dinner, I had mixed noodles (banmian) and wontons (huntun) at Wuziqiaokelike on Jiefang South Road. The place was full of people, and the food tasted good.











Another food bazaar in Yining is on Hanren Street. I used to hear that there were no Han people on Hanren Street. That might have been true at one time, but it is definitely not the case now, as there are plenty of Han tourists there.



I had a bowl of starch noodle soup (fentang) at a Uyghur stall.







Aibaoersake Kazakh Theme Restaurant

I had Kazakh breakfast twice in Six-Star Street in Yining. Kazakh people eat stir-fried dishes for breakfast, which is very hardcore.



The staff clearly looked Kazakh, with facial features similar to Mongolians.





Baorsak is the fried dough food shown below. It is fluffy and soft, and you can dip it in various sauces. It is a Kazakh specialty, a bit like the fried dough (youxiang) eaten by Hui Muslims.



Baorsak





Kazakh potatoes

You definitely have to drink milk tea in the morning. It is salty and served with Kazakh potatoes, stir-fried meat with chili peppers, and a side of smoked horse sausage. Having such a special breakfast in Yili is very satisfying.











For a main meal, try traditional Yili stir-fry. I recommend Yimaisi, located not far from Six Star Street. It is owned by the same people as the Lari Hot Pot next door. This restaurant has been open for nearly eight years and is one of the few places in Xinjiang that does not serve alcohol or allow smoking. Staying open for eight years means the food must be good enough to win over the locals.



I tried their stir-fried dishes and every single one was delicious. The owner told me that they make as many ingredients as possible from scratch instead of buying pre-made items. Even their yogurt shaved ice (suannai baobing) is made with great care.





Yogurt shaved ice (suannai baobing)



Fermented vegetable noodle soup (jiangshui mian)

This was my first time eating fermented vegetable noodle soup (jiangshui mian) served hot. I had only eaten it cold before in Gansu.



Freshly fried dough fritters (youxiang)

It is worth noting that not only are the meat dishes good, but their vegetable dishes are also very flavorful. It is no wonder the owner can keep the business booming without selling alcohol, which is not an easy thing to do in Xinjiang. This was the most impressive restaurant we ate at in Yining.





Another place in Six Star Street, Laoha Fast Food, was recommended by a friend for breakfast. The environment is simple, but it feels very authentic and the prices are much cheaper.



The interesting thing about this shop is that breakfast is self-service. You take what you want to eat, and when you finish, you go to the owner to pay. You just tell them what you ate based on your own memory. The owner cannot keep track of everyone, and I believe very few people would lie about what they ate.





There is a popular restaurant in Six Star Street called Blue Wall Mianfeizi that many friends recommended I try. It is called Blue Wall because the walls are painted blue, which is a common color for houses in Yili.





The lung and noodle dish (mianfeizi) is truly delicious and business is very good, but their operating hours are short and they close as soon as it gets dark.



Lung noodles (mianfeizi)



Mudanhan ice cream

Across from the blue-walled lung noodles (mianfeizi) shop is a beautiful ice cream parlor called Mudanhan. Ice cream shops are popular spots for people in Yili to relax and chat, and you can find them everywhere. However, Mudanhan uses better ingredients than the others I have tried. Their ice cream is made with pure milk, has no ice crystals, and tastes rich and smooth.









Six Star Street also has a long-standing ice cream shop called Gulandamu. It is an old shop with a traditional residential style and a nice atmosphere, but the ice cream is not as pure in texture as Mudanhan. Mudanhan is a better fit for young people.







The buildings on Six Star Street are mostly in a Russian style because the area was influenced by Tsarist Russia in the past. This Russian-style neighborhood look is at least a hundred years old. Even the mosque on Six Star Street is in a Russian style and is very beautiful. The young men and women in Yili also dress with a Russian flair. This is part of Yili's charm, where you can experience the collision of different cultures.













Dongguan West Mosque in Yangbulake Village

Leaving Yining, we saw the Kazakh Dongguan West Mosque in Yangbulake Village on the way to the Horgos border crossing, but it was not open.



Horgos has two national gates. The first is the old gate, and below it is the new gate. If you have a passport, you can take a visa-free one-day trip to Kazakhstan.



We set off from Yining to Shuiding Town in Huocheng to visit the gongbei of the wife of Ma Mingxin, the founding master of the Jahriyya order.



The wife's gongbei in Shuiding Town

The Zhang family wife's gongbei has been closed for all activities for many years, and the inside is overgrown with weeds.



Ma Mingxin, the founding master of the Jahriyya order, had two wives. One was a Salar grandmother who committed suicide after learning that Ma Mingxin had been killed. The other was this Zhang family wife from Caoyagou, Tongwei, Gansu. She and her three daughters were exiled to Xinjiang, and the three daughters died on the way.

Mrs. Zhang's daughter, Mrs. Hagu, drowned herself in a lake on her way to Yili. According to an imam from the Jahriyya (Zhepai) order, the name Sayram Lake comes from Mrs. Hagu's religious name, Salima. Mrs. Zhang was exiled alone to work as a slave in an official residence in Yili.



In the 46th year of the Qianlong reign, Mrs. Zhang killed an official's entire family with a knife in the middle of the night. She later turned herself in, was sentenced to death by the Qing court, and was buried by the Yili River.



After visiting this shrine (gongbei), I have now been to all the main shrines of the Jahriyya order. Although I am not a member of a Sufi order (menhuan) and only knew about them from books before, visiting them in person and talking with the families has given me a lot to think about. The information in books about these orders is still quite one-sided.



I left Shuiding Town and headed toward Urumqi. On the way, I passed Sayram Lake and accidentally found a rest area in Guozigou. There is a path that leads directly to the Sayram Lake scenic area, so I didn't have to buy a ticket and saved the 300 yuan self-driving fee.



Remember this entrance: navigate to the Guozigou pasture in Huocheng County. Go up the mountain from this point, and you can reach the top in about an hour to look down at the full view of Sayram Lake.



The horses along the way are raised by Kazakh people. You can also ride a horse up the mountain, but they charge by the hour, and the actual cost is about the same as the scenic area entrance ticket.





We reached the top of the mountain in no time. The scenery in front of us was beautiful, and it was free, too.













The beauty of Sayram Lake is just as good as Kanas Lake, which I have visited before. Plus, after hearing the stories of the Jahriyya order on this trip, I feel it has even more meaning. As for whether it should be called Sayram Lake or Salima Lake, it really doesn't matter to the Jahriyya.

I remember the imam saying that in winter, one part of the lake never freezes, which seems to be a sign. The imam had tears in his eyes when he mentioned that history, a scene I could never have felt just by reading a book. view all